W K Tweedie
Romans 5:6. In due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Not for the virtuous; in God’s eye there are none such, for all are “become filthy”. Not for the penitent, for Christ has been exalted “a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance, and no one can possess it till they come to Christ to obtain it. Not for the reformed, for in God’s estimation there is no valid reformation till men are in Christ and become new creatures under the converting power of the Spirit. Not even for believers, for faith is itself a “gift of God”, and cannot be the procuring cause of His favour.
“For the ungodly” then; for sinners, even the chief; for those who are by nature the children of wrath and dead in trespasses and in sin – for these did the Redeemer die. This is the glorious gospel of the grace of God: salvation for the chief of sinners. Man would be satisfied if he was permitted to think that his tears, at least, or his sighs and his contrition had some share in procuring the favour of his God; but that is only a portion of the smoke from the abyss. The sighs and tears and contrition of a sinner are all tainted by sin, and therefore they can only obtain condemnation from God.
In His wisdom and compassion these are the terms of the gospel: “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” – for those who were without God in the world, were aliens from hope, and had in themselves no portion but sin, no heritage but despair. This is the sheet anchor of the self-condemned. Here is the divine method of meeting the law’s demands, of satisfying the challenges of conscience, and teaching us to join in the noble anthem, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”
Rejoice then and be exceeding glad, O my soul, for here is the good news: Christ died for the ungodly. Hold up the hands which hang down, for Christ died for sinners, even the chief, for the ungodly to make them godly, for sinners to make them saints.
1Taken, with editing, from Tweedie’s volume, Glad Tidings of the Gospel of Peace.